The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must (25th Anniversary Edition)

Robert Zubrin crafted the daring blueprint for humanity's reach to the Red Planet twenty-five years ago when he first published The Case for Mars. Now, in an era when the American space program and private companies like SpaceX are racing to send astronauts there before the decade is out, he looks to the future once more. In the grand tradition of successful explorers, Zubrin calls for a travel-light and live-off-the-land approach to Martian settlement. He explains how scientists can use present-day technology to send humans to mars, produce fuel and oxygen on the planet's surface with its own natural resources, build bases and communities, and, one day, terraform - or alter the atmosphere of the planet in order to pave the way for sustainable life. As the day humans step foot on the Red Planet draws ever nearer, Zubrin lays out a comprehensive plan to build life on a new world.